Goodnight
by JapaneseAnimeFreak16
Summary: He closed his eyes in resignation as he felt his son go limp in his arms, his heart shattering like his sons zanpakuto. He held his little boy to his chest tightly and cried. Cried for a boy. Cried for a man. Cried for a Shinigami. Cried for a hero.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** Okay, this is NOT A NEW CHAPTER! It's just a revised and slightly different version of the first chapter. Mainly the same with some pretty decent changes. I added this as another chapter for those who might prefer the first one, but in my opinion, this one is sadder. Sorry to those of you hoping for another chapter, I still don't have a very clear idea of how I should do it or if I should do it at all and leave it like this. Thank you to those of you who Reviewed/Favorited/Alerted this fic and let me know which you like better.

**Rating: T**

**Warning:** Gore, angst.

**Disclaimer:** Yeaaaah, I don't own Bleach. Back off.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~BLEACH*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

**Goodnight**

"Oh god…" Isshin breathed, staring at the horrifying scene before him. There, on the steps of Aizen's throne, lay his son, his little boy, broken and bloody. The rays of light landing on him only seemed to highlight the injuries.

He willed his weakened and haggard body to move, to get closer to his son, and painfully did so. The large cuts and wounds that littered his chest, back, arms, and legs reopened and started to pour out more blood, but he didn't care. He just wanted to be by his son's side.

As he got closer, he saw the remains of Aizen's corpse on the other side of the room. If he had any more energy to spare, or didn't have a higher priority, Isshin would've growled at spat at the disgusting excuse of a Shinigami. But that wasn't important. Getting to his son was.

He finally reached Ichigo's side, his heart tearing a part at the gruesome scene before him. His son had received more injuries than he thought, and there was so much blood…it made Isshin queasy. Why did his son have to go through this?

The boy's face was sickly pale, worse than when Ukitake-taichou went into one of his coughing fits, and he looked so fragile…so frail it truly scared Isshin. Blood matted the boys hair and drenched his Shinigami robes and streamed down his face. Ichigo still had Zangetsu in his tight grip, but what drew his attention was the small crack forming in the center. Oh god, please no…

A wheezing cough brought the elder Kurosaki out of his daze, releasing a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. His eyes darted to Ichigo's closed ones, his heart rate picking up when he saw them flutter.

Slowly, painfully, Ichigo opened his eyes only to see his bloody and battered father leaning over him with tremendous sorrow in his eyes. He managed a weak smile, "Hey Pops." His voice was hoarse and quiet and Isshin had to strain to hear him, but he was thankful and relieved nonetheless – pride shining in his eyes.

"Thank god." Isshin breathed, his own bright smile finally winning over the pathetic sadness that was there before. "Just wait a minute, I'll go get a Fourth Division memb-"

He was cut off when he felt his sons surprisingly strong hand on his forearm. He sent a questioning gaze only to receive a calm, tired one in return – a look he saw one too many times and never thought would see on his son. His heart suddenly broke all over again. "Did I get 'im, pops?" Ichigo asked weakly.

Isshin nodded, tears burning at the back of his eyes, as he thickly replied, "Yeah, son. You got him good." He kneeled by his sons side, his shoulders sagging in defeat and grief.

Ichigo nodded in content and sighed tiredly, wincing at the pain that lanced through his body. "Hey, pops…" he started, attempting to get up only to hiss in pain. Isshin helped support him, holding his son's head and shoulders in his arms, "how…how'd you meet mom?" he asked quietly, curiously – in a small, childish voice Isshin hadn't heard since he was little. The boy looked up inquisitively at his father, his eyes changing from tired and pained to wide and innocent. His heart clenched.

The older Shinigami was a bit startled at the question, but he understood. His eyes started to water and his chest ached painfully for reasons that had nothing to do with his injuries, but he smiled sadly anyway, "Well…" he started, clearing his throat, "when I came to the real world, I didn't know much about it. I ended up running into her at the market, literally. Your mother was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen…"

Ichigo smiled weakly, imagining his gorgeous mother and her heart-warming smile. His zanpakutou cracked a bit more, making the older Kurosaki feel sick to his stomach.

Isshin took a shuddering breath, pushing back the tears, "I asked her to show me around town since I was knew and she agreed. We walked around town and had a great time." He smiled.

The tightness in his chest becoming worse when Ichigo closed his beautiful brown eyes inherited from his mother. He ignored the crack from Zangetsu, willing the zanpakutou to not break – at least for a little longer.

"While we were walking though an ally, five men surrounded us and tried to kidnap her. I fought them off, but as one was about to attack me from behind, your mother – with her fiery temper and surprising strength – punched him once and knocked him out." He gave a small chuckle at the memory.

Ichigo could imagine that. His mother always seemed docile until you put something or someone she loved in danger. Then she could get REALLY scary. Another crack formed in Zangetsu as Ichigo thought, _'Thanks Zangetsu-ossan, Shirosaki.'_

An old, tired, and fatherly voice relied, '_Thank you, Kurosaki Ichigo.'_

Shirosaki remained quiet.

"She took me back to her place to bandage me up, telling me about her friend who had just passed away and was a doctor. We ended up talking the whole night and I eventually asked her out." Ichigo gave a contented sigh, slowly relaxing his pain rigid body and for once enjoying his fathers company.

He hadn't been held by either parent for a long time, ever since he shut his father out, and enjoyed every minute of it. He felt his fathers grip tighten around him, the pain slowly subsiding. His fathers warm loving voice lulled him into a sleep like state and he smiled at how nice it felt to finally let go of it all.

"Our first date was at the bank of the river, watching the fireworks. When I saw her smiling face lighted by the fireworks, I knew I was in love." He finished, closing his eyes in resignation as he felt his son go limp in his arms and heard the zanpakutou completely shatter.

The tears finally fell, a gut wrenching sob escaping from his lips. He looked down at his son and brushed his orange locks out of his closed eyes. He took some comfort in the smile that was on Ichigo's lips, but it didn't lessen the overwhelming loss. He held his little boy to his chest tightly, ignoring the burning wounds all over, and cried.

Cried for a boy thrust into such a harsh reality

Cried for the man that saved so many lives.

Cried for a fellow Shinigami.

Cried for a hero.

After what seemed like an eternity when the tears finally stopped, he finally released his sons body and lay it down gently with the utmost respect, love, and care. "Rest in peace, my son." He whispered hoarsely.

Behind him, the doors swung open with a resounding thud as the Gotei 13's captains, lieutenants, and soutaichou entered the room along with Ichigo's friends. "Ichigo!" Rukia yelled, searching for a head of orange hair.

A heavy hand held her shoulder and she looked up questioningly at her captain.

His solemn gaze was away from hers and she followed, only to gasp at the sight.

Isshin stood, the pure and bright spirit particles of his sons soul disappearing around him. They circled the man, whispering so only he could hear, '_Love you pops.'_

'_I love you too, son. I'm so proud. '_

All that was left was a heart-broken but determined man standing in a ray of light created by of his son, and the strong will of a boy turned Shinigami passed on to his friends and to Soul Society.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~BLEACH*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

**Author's Note:** don't hate me if you don't like this new version, I left the old one up for you! This one is a bit more sad and drawn out and has a bit more backround, but I think I kept them in character enough – at least if they were ever in this situation. I haven't seen enough Serious-Isshin or Tired-Calm-Childlike-Ichigo, though I think he would react this way. He always was pretty cleared headed when out of battle and knew his limits.

THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS/ALERTS/FAVORITES!


	2. AN HAPPY ENDING!

**Author's Note:** I know it's been a YEAR since I first wrote this one-shot, and with some inspiration from **hoigui**, I was able to write a HAPPY ENDING version of this story :DD I hope you guys like it!

Just a heads up, you won't have to re-read Goodnight to refresh your memory or anything, the first quarter of the happy version is basically the same :P This one's like twice as long as Goodnight. I really hope you guys like it even if happy endings aren't your thing :)

THANK YOU GUYS SOOO MUCH FOR YOUR WONDERFUL COMMENTS AND INSPIRATION AND PRAISE! IT MAKES ME FEEL ALL WARM AND FUZZY INSIDE!

PS! Check out **hoigui's** story,** Goodnight's Happy Ending** since without his/her one shot, I probably wouldn't have written the happy version :D

PPS Here's the title of the new one-shot, **Goodmorning**. Original, huh? Lol, I know it's two words but it looks BETTER as one word and goes with the flow :P Thanks again for your support and I hope all of you like the new one-shot!


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